Can someone tell me the pro and cons of of owning a route for snap-on,ma,or matco. Anything would help.


Kevin

 

As someone who has been approached twice by Snap~on, knows a Mac dealer personally and has delt with all three, here is my list.
cons, You have to go into debt to start (my area $150,000.00)
You don't get to choose your area.
They (the franchisor) can approve a person for a tool and loan the money for it, but you get stuck with the legal responsibility for it, in your area.
Check where you live, as the truck is considered a commercial vehicle that can be used to force you to move. (can't park on your own property to keep an eye on it)
Bad turn over rate of both tool truck drivers and mechanics, mean hunting people down.
You had better be a good salesman.
Sears, has a better warranty, is cheaper and is your main competition.
If you warranty out a tool, then turn it in to the franchiser and they say "it's been abused" then it comes out of your pocket.
Your cost is normally between 75 and 80% of retail.
You have the big cost of the truck, and they tried to make one driver replace his two year old truck .
70% default rate on tool boxes (big ticket item).
pro/con you are your own boss, but only within the context of being a franchisee.
I know a former matco man, snap on man, a current mac man (fighting city hall about parking at home) and through the garage job, we have had two snap on men, two matco men, and one mac tools man in three years.

 

Not for long. Now that they've begun to sell off their Craftsman brand name, it won't be long before they lose all loyalty, and find a way to end the warranty program.

 

How and when have they started selling off thier brand name? I know a lot of their suppliers, have been off shoring, but sears still owns their name.

 

Don't forget that the are people selling Snap-On and the like on Ebay and simmilar sites. With their low overhead, that will be cutting into your profit margin.

Also, after the initial investment, like other have said roughly 150K, the only thing that you have after say 10-20 years of work is "good will". It is hard to sell a business based on "good will" as opposed to hard assets. Other than your inventory and truck, there isn't much else.